KULIM: Some 3,000 people all over the country could have been cheated out of more than RM30mil by a company promising them yearly returns of more than 100% in a earthworm farming project to produce organic fertilisers.

More than 200 investors from the northern part of the country staged a peaceful demonstration outside the company premises in Jalan Lunas here yesterday, claiming that some 3,000 people were involved in the scheme.

The company had closed down last week after it purportedly failed to pay the rent, which came up to about RM10,000.

Investor Shahibul Hidaya Haliman, 56, from Sungai Dua, Penang, said he had put in RM5,000 in August after being promised a monthly return of RM833.80 for a year